Pakistan in new anti-Taliban drive after hotel bombing

Jun 10, 2009, 16:20 GMT

Islamabad - The Pakistani army on Wednesday launched a new drive against the Taliban in the north-western region, a day after a deadly car suicide bombing killed at least 18 people, including two United Nations officials.

A military statement said the offensive in Bannu district of North Western Frontier Province (NWFP) began after up to 800 rebels entered from the adjoining North Waziristan, a stronghold of Taliban and al- Qaeda.

'They were planning to strike at different places in NWFP,' the army statement said.

Taliban militants have recently stepped up strikes to avenge Pakistan's ongoing assault in Swat and three neighbouring districts in the NWFP.

More than 1,300 militants have been reported killed in the offensive that started in late April after insurgents failed to observe the terms of a peace deal.

Late Tuesday, militants targeted the Pearl Continental hotel, a popular haunt for foreigners and the local elite in the heart of Peshawar, the NWFP's capital, with a suicide bombing carried out by at least three attackers.

Rescuers clawing through the rubble on Wednesday recovered six more bodies, taking the death toll to at least 18, officials said.

The United Nations office in Islamabad said two staff members - Serbian national Aleksandar Vorkapic from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and Pilipino Perseveranda So of UNICEF - were among the dead.

At least 64 people, including four UN staffers, were wounded. Security camera footage of Tuesday's blast showed hotel guards clearing a sedan for entry into the compound when a pickup truck drove behind it.

As the hydraulic barrier was lowered, shots were fired and both vehicles moved quickly through the passage and soon there was a flash and a cloud of smoke with no vehicles in the frame.

Shafqatullah Malik, deputy police chief in North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) said the pickup truck carried nearly 500 kilograms of high-intensity explosives.

The massive blast damaged the hotel façade, destroyed dozens of vehicles in the parking lot and shattered windows of buildings several hundred meters away from the site.

'Six bodies have been recovered since morning,' Qazi Jameel, a senior police officer coordinating the rescue and relief operations, told the German Press Agency dpa.

'No one has been pulled out alive but there's still debris to be removed,' Jameel said, adding that the casualty count might increase.

Vast public support has encouraged the government to push on with its offensive in Swat, but a displacement of around 2.5 million refugees and an ensuing humanitarian crisis are threatening a change in opinion.

The relief activities that are being assisted by the UN could be hampered by the deadly bombing in Peshawar.

Ishrat Rizvi, an official at the UN information office in Islamabad, said most of the foreign staff had been 'moved out' of Peshawar mainly out of security concerns, while some were being shifted because they were 'traumatized.'

The UN World Food Programme (WFP), which is distributing food rations at humanitarian hubs and refugee settlements, delayed resumption of its operations until Friday.

However, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Pakistan Fikret Akcura said Wednesday the world body was determined to continue humanitarian support for the uprooted people.

A statement from the US embassy in Islamabad said its consulate personnel in Peshawar had been instructed to limit their movements until further notice.

Despite the bombing, Pakistani forces continued their assault in various areas of Swat, and killed at least 23 rebels in latest attacks, dyuring which they lost two soldiers and saw 12 wounded.